2023 · a restricted test site in the United States (name and state redacted)

Three people driving to a U.S. test site see a bright light and a silent bronze or metallic object vanish (September 2023)

On the record

Strength B · 7/10 · 2 independent

Evidence 3/4 · Witnesses 2/3 · Backing 2/3

Released FBI interviews taken the same month record a range supervisor and a drone pilot each seeing a silent metallic object vanish at a restricted test site, with a third worker's sighting.

Plausibility High

Score 12 · 7 factors for, 0 against

FBI interviews taken the same month record a range supervisor and a drone pilot each seeing a silent metallic object vanish at a restricted test site.

See the factors ↓

Natural cause proposed, not demonstrated

FBI September 2023 Sighting - Serial 3 · page 1 of 2 · war.gov file, via the ufotransparency.com mirror

Whena morning in September 2023 (day redacted), about 7:15-9:00 am

Wherea restricted test site in the United States (name and state redacted)

Backing2 independent

Witnesses2 named

In September 2023 the FBI interviewed three people who saw something on their way to a restricted U.S. test site where drone and LiDAR testing was planned. Two interviews were by FaceTime and one in person. The range supervisor had worked there for 15 years. Between 7:15 and 7:30 am, the restricted-area gate failed to open three times and then worked on the fourth attempt. She said it had no problems before or after. Shortly afterwards she saw a silent, "metallic bronze" cigar-shaped object nearly hovering 500 to 3,000 feet above a tree line about a mile southwest. It was two to three Blackhawk helicopters long, with an intense "diamond white" light and a ring at its eastern end. After 5 to 10 seconds it "just disappeared". A drone pilot in the group described a linear, metallic or gray object, one to two Blackhawks long and about 5,000 ft up, with a super-bright light on its east side, that vanished when the light went out. A third witness, driving east at about 9:00 am, saw only a bright white light 10 to 20 miles away for about ten seconds. He thought it might have been a meteor. An FBI Lab composite sketch shows a bronze ellipsoid over a field and tree line. The 130-195 ft length in the war.gov listing matches two to three Blackhawk lengths. No explanation is given. The case/western2023 record in the database mentions these interviews in one sentence and lists the serials as part of its record. However, they describe a separate September 2023 incident, which the database has not written up. *Method note: war.gov blocks this server. The FBI files were read from the original PDFs served by the ufotransparency.com mirror. The FD-302 interview reports are scans: page 1 of each and all of Serial 4 have no text layer, so those quotations were read from the page images. Witness names, the site and the exact day are redacted, and the redacted witnesses are therefore tagged anonymous. The composite sketch is an image with no text; its caption details (130 to 195 feet, "materialized") come from the war.gov listing as carried by the mirror.*

Evidence, in date order (2)

Sept 2023Drone pilot at the test site (name redacted)witness
separately saw a metallic linear object with a bright light that vanished FBI September 2023 Sighting - Serial 5
Sept 2023Third test-site worker (name redacted)witness
saw a bright stationary light move and disappear the same morning FBI September 2023 Sighting - Serial 3

How plausible · High

FBI interviews taken the same month record a range supervisor and a drone pilot each seeing a silent metallic object vanish at a restricted test site.

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Access At the site.
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No gain sought FBI interviews.
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Character record Range professionals.
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Independent convergence Two independent witnesses.
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Checkable details check out Released FBI files.
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Restraint A third witness offered a meteor for what he saw.

Plausibility weighs how well an account fits where secrecy hides the documents by design, so missing records never count against it. Strength measures what is documented. Assessed 2026-10-23.

On the record

"no prior operational problems" (FBI September 2023 Sighting - Serial 4, p. 1; read from the page image) with the gate; it opened on the fourth fob attempt, and "there were no operating issues with the gate after".
"cigar shaped object with an extremely bright light southwest of them approximately 500 to 3000 feet above the nearest tree line (agent note: the tree line was approximately one mile south west of [redacted] position)" (FBI September 2023 Sighting - Serial 4, p. 2; read from the page image)
"intense diamond white light with what appeared to be a ring around the light" (FBI September 2023 Sighting - Serial 4, p. 2; read from the page image) at the eastern end, pointing south-east; looking at it was "like looking into the sun".
"metallic bronze in color" (FBI September 2023 Sighting - Serial 4, p. 2; read from the page image); two to three Blackhawks long, about 1.5 Blackhawks wide; completely silent; visible 5 to 10 seconds, "then the object just disappeared".
"the object did leave any contrails" (FBI September 2023 Sighting - Serial 4, p. 2; read from the page image; [sic]; the mirror paraphrases this as "left no contrails")
She felt the object "left when it saw them"; a passenger in the second vehicle also saw it; she would not have reported it alone, and coworkers made fun of her; no photos were taken; in 15 years she had never seen anything like it. (FBI September 2023 Sighting - Serial 4, p. 2, read from the page image) Serial 5: the drone pilot (FaceTime interview)

Claims

A silent, bronze, cigar-shaped object with a diamond-white light hovered above the tree line and then disappeared. (firsthand; range supervisor, name redacted; anonymous)firsthandSourced, unconfirmed

The gate failure just beforehand was unusual. (firsthand; same). Whether it was connected to the object is her implication only; the file does not establish it.firsthandSourced, unconfirmed

The object "left when it saw them". (speculation; same)speculationSourced, unconfirmed

A metallic or gray linear object, bigger than a drone, with a very bright light at its east end, vanished when the light went out. (firsthand; drone pilot, name redacted; anonymous)firsthandSourced, unconfirmed

A bright white light was stationary, moved right and disappeared. It might have been a meteor. (firsthand, with his own speculation; third witness, name redacted; anonymous)firsthandSourced, unconfirmed

Others at the first test site also saw it. (secondhand; reported by the third witness)secondhandSourced, unconfirmed

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